10/04/07 Washington ag commodities set another value record in 2006

Washington Ag October 4, 2007 The value of Washington's 2006 agricultural production broke a record for the second straight year reaching 6.87 billion dollars, six percent above 2005. That's in a report from the Washington Bureau of the Agricultural Statistics Services where deputy director Dennis Koong says several commodities set value records too. Koong: "Apples, pears, potatoes, all hay, onions and greenhouse products." Washington's blueberry crop surged to a record value of 30 million dollars, up from just 19 million in 2005. Koong says for the third year in a row apples were the top valued commodity at 1.39 billion dollars. Koong: "That was 34% above 2005. Milk ranked second with a value of 688 million. This was done a little bit from 05. About 18% below 2005. Wheat moved into third place with a value of 626 million. Fourth place was cattle and calves at 588 million and rounding out the top five were potatoes which posted a 5% increase from 05 and those were valued at 562 million dollars." On a value per harvested acre basis cherries were tops in 2006 at over 89-hundred dollars an acre. I'm Bob Hoff.